DESTINED TO MEET

Author: Devon Vaughn Archer ISBN: 9780373860715 6/2008 CONTEMPORARY Publisher: KIMANI

Courtney Hudson didn't date, didn't go barhopping and definitely didn't do one-night stands. But when she decided to bust loose for one night, who would have guessed the beautiful young widow would end up in the bed of a sexy, brown-skinned brother from Alaska? Detective Lloyd Vance had moved to the lower forty-eight to escape a troubled past. And after a single, sizzling night of passion with Courtney, he knew he had made the right move. But then tragedy struck, and Lloyd and Courtney got caught up in a twist of fate that threatened to destroy their burgeoning affair.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Did you ever see those commercials (I think the product is Walgreen's Drug Store) where everything is perfect, everyone reacts exactly as they should, and the right thing always happens in the end? Well, Devon Vaughn Archer's DESTINED TO MEET was not exactly like that, but pretty darn close. There actually are some problems facing Courtney and Lloyd in this romance, but they manage them in a kind of textbook fashion that would make any psychologist shudder (to think of the lost fees for counseling, I mean), and much too quickly and maturely for my taste. Not that I'm a drama queen, mind you, or maybe I am a little bit, but that's why I like romance novels! For the drama!

This doesn't mean I didn't like DESTINED TO MEET. I actually did. There was something about it that made me want to keep reading, even though it wasn't your typical romance. Courtney is mature and logical; Lloyd is considerate and sensitive. They both reasoned out every single action, carefully putting themselves in the others' place before making any rash actions. The disasters were managed with remarkable calm. It felt to me like a kind of idealistic viewpoint of how women and men should relate to each other, rather than how they actually do, to the point where it seemed unrealistic (although I couldn't help but think that if I behaved more like Courtney, I might actually have a shot at holding on to a relationship one of these days). The story of Courtney and Lloyd was interesting in spite of this (or because of it?), but the actual sex scenes were a bit short lived and dry. Archer writes that the sex is out of this world, rather than actually describing an experience that would give the reader that impression. If this were an ice cream flavor, it would be vanilla.

Joanne Shaeffer